Anastasia Potapova: "It’s a pleasure to work with Mikhail Youzhny, he is a cool captain"
- Tell us please more about three matches you had at the North Palmyra Trophies tournament. How did you like the duo with Viktoriya Tomova?
- I am excited about the doubles match! I think we played great – we managed to do everything we wanted to. The atmosphere in the team is extremely friendly, we all communicate a lot and support each other. I think you see it even from the outside. We never miss each other's matches and we are always there on the bench to support. The match in singles was harder for me because I'm a little bit sick, especially today, but we are athletes and being sick is nothing for us. You have to play feeling like this quite often, you have to overcome yourself when it happens.
- Can you share your opinion on Mikhail Youzhny as a team captain?
- Mikhail knows that I am a little sick. I have never worked with him before, although we have known each other for a long time already. We have never seen each other on the court even when he was still on tour. There is definitely something to learn from him! He is smart, tactical and says the right things, which I am taking into consideration for the future, not only for this tournament. Working with Mikhail is a pleasure and he is a cool team captain!
- Yulia Putintseva and you were the pioneers who tried a new format of the game. To sum it up, do you think this format has a future?
- Talking about official tournaments I like the classic format, but for an exhibition tournament this format is very interesting! I don’t know what the spectators think but I think that this format is interesting for them too. As we can see, even if you win a match by seven games, then at the end of the next match you can lose by 2 or 3 games. I think it's very interesting in terms of competing, because I still don't know who’s going to win. At one moment it seems like we are leading the race, and at another moment it turns out that we're already losing. Since yesterday the score has been equal and only now Karen [Khachanov] and I have managed to take the lead. It's very interesting to watch.
- Please share your impressions of the players' party that took place yesterday, what was the most memorable thing?
- I remember the host of the event [Alexander Belov], we've all known him for a long time already. He's been hosting players' parties for a long time. He's a showman, he sings and dances. He made us sing, dance and even do pantomimes! It was very funny. In general, the atmosphere yesterday was amazing, everyone was looking very good. We had a delicious meal, had some wine and went to bed to get ready for a new day at the tournament.
- Anastasia, please tell us where you will start the new season? What are your goals for the 2025 season?
- I will start my season in Brisbane, Adelaide and then the Australian Open in Melbourne. In fact, I don’t really like to share my goals for the season. Of course, I have my goals. My tactic is a famous Russian saying – don’t say “Hop” until you make it. But if we talk in general, the most important thing is to avoid injuries and try to do everything possible so that next year will be even better.
- I am excited about the doubles match! I think we played great – we managed to do everything we wanted to. The atmosphere in the team is extremely friendly, we all communicate a lot and support each other. I think you see it even from the outside. We never miss each other's matches and we are always there on the bench to support. The match in singles was harder for me because I'm a little bit sick, especially today, but we are athletes and being sick is nothing for us. You have to play feeling like this quite often, you have to overcome yourself when it happens.
- Can you share your opinion on Mikhail Youzhny as a team captain?
- Mikhail knows that I am a little sick. I have never worked with him before, although we have known each other for a long time already. We have never seen each other on the court even when he was still on tour. There is definitely something to learn from him! He is smart, tactical and says the right things, which I am taking into consideration for the future, not only for this tournament. Working with Mikhail is a pleasure and he is a cool team captain!
- Yulia Putintseva and you were the pioneers who tried a new format of the game. To sum it up, do you think this format has a future?
- Talking about official tournaments I like the classic format, but for an exhibition tournament this format is very interesting! I don’t know what the spectators think but I think that this format is interesting for them too. As we can see, even if you win a match by seven games, then at the end of the next match you can lose by 2 or 3 games. I think it's very interesting in terms of competing, because I still don't know who’s going to win. At one moment it seems like we are leading the race, and at another moment it turns out that we're already losing. Since yesterday the score has been equal and only now Karen [Khachanov] and I have managed to take the lead. It's very interesting to watch.
- Please share your impressions of the players' party that took place yesterday, what was the most memorable thing?
- I remember the host of the event [Alexander Belov], we've all known him for a long time already. He's been hosting players' parties for a long time. He's a showman, he sings and dances. He made us sing, dance and even do pantomimes! It was very funny. In general, the atmosphere yesterday was amazing, everyone was looking very good. We had a delicious meal, had some wine and went to bed to get ready for a new day at the tournament.
- Anastasia, please tell us where you will start the new season? What are your goals for the 2025 season?
- I will start my season in Brisbane, Adelaide and then the Australian Open in Melbourne. In fact, I don’t really like to share my goals for the season. Of course, I have my goals. My tactic is a famous Russian saying – don’t say “Hop” until you make it. But if we talk in general, the most important thing is to avoid injuries and try to do everything possible so that next year will be even better.
